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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. charge — electricity
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mate — to breed
  9. pitch — completely
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. mate — a partner
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. mate — a friend
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. charge — in control
  23. wake — a trail
  24. leaves — to go away

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com